A MAN who served his country in the Iraq war was hit with a £75 parking fine while he helped his disabled father-in-law pull his mobility scooter from a ditch.

Steve Paddon, a former corporal in the RAF, was pushing Mick White, 75, in his heavy scooter towards a van that he had temporarily parked on double yellow lines.

At that moment a parking warden in a Poole Borough Council vehicle slowed down to record the incident before pulling away.

Mr Paddon, 32, who completed seven tours of Iraq and three in Afghanistan, was sent a £75 penalty charge notice.

He said he had appealed, explaining the reasons for stopping, and was disgusted when the local authority refused to cancel the ticket for the incident on October 20.

Electrician Mr Paddon had been helping his father-in-law, who has a painful degenerative illness, pick up fence posts at a DIY store in the Dorset town.

Mr Paddon, who served for 12 years in the RAF, said: “I’m disgusted. The fact that they slowed down to get the picture shows they would have seen me struggling to help Mick. But they decided to issue the ticket regardless. They didn’t think to stop to ask what the situation was or if Mick was OK.

I would have stopped to help but it’s like they’re saying you can’t stop to help someone in need. There is no common sense or compassion

Steve Paddon

“I would have stopped to help but it’s like they’re saying you can’t stop to help someone in need. There is no common sense or compassion.”

Mr White, who served as a medic in the parachute regiment during the Suez crisis, said: “I can’t let him pay the fine – he was doing me a favour. It did upset me though.

“If I’d fallen off my scooter what is someone supposed to do – just drive past?

“If you become disabled don’t expect anyone to stop and help you. They might get punished.”

A Poole council spokeswoman said Mr Paddon had not made an official appeal against the penalty charge notice despite twice being told he could do so.

But Mr White’s wife, Gill, claimed she had paid the fine after calling the council and being told the penalty could not be cancelled as “there were no mitigating circumstances”.